POOR DIET DURING PREGNANCY INCREASES BABY'S SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DIABETES

Scientists of the Cambridge University have been successful in establishing a link between a woman's diet during the 9-months of her pregnancy and the child's risk of developing diabetes later in life. Researchers have identified a gene Hnf4a which is affected by the pregnant woman's diet and causes type 2 diabetes. These genetic changes can be inherited and passed on to future generations.

Senior author on the paper and British Heart Foundation senior fellow from Cambridge's Institute of Metabolic Science, Dr. Susan Ozanne said, "What is most exciting about these findings is that we are now starting to really understand how nutrition during the first nine months of life spent in the womb shapes our long-term health by influencing how the cells in our body age.

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DIET FOR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, FROM THE BEGINNING

Studies looking into how diet and nutrition affect central nervous system development from birth are being conducted by Agricultural Research Service(ARS)-funded scientists. They are using noninvasive tools to assess infant, toddler and school-aged children's psychological, neurological and physiological development, as well as other brain-related functions.

Healthy newborns soak up information from their surroundings while their developing brains sprout billions of nerve cell connections, or synapses. The brain's "hardwiring" actually starts in the womb, directed by the growing fetus' genetic game plan acquired from both parents. Good nutrition is key to supporting the growth of this network of neurons from the beginning.

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RESEARCH STUDIES EFFECTS OF SOY BABY FORMULA ON INTESTINAL DEVELOPMENT

URBANA, Ill. -- Two studies by University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Sharon Donovan show that the soy isoflavone genistein, in amounts present in commercial soy infant formulas, may inhibit intestinal cell growth in babies. So what are we to think about soy in a baby's diet?

Donovan said it's an important question to ask because almost 25 percent of formula-fed babies in the United States consume soy formula. Although babies on soy formula appear to grow normally, these formulas contain very high concentrations of genistein, from 32 to 45 milligrams, which is higher than the amount found to affect menstrual cycles in women, she said.

"I'm struck by the fact that these babies are receiving isoflavones at such high concentrations," Donovan said.

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